All-in-one hand held wrap material dispensing and storage apparatus

ABSTRACT

A cylindrical tube for dispensing wrap material, comprising an outer surface having a flat portion, the flat portion for resting on a surface; an inside diameter sized for receiving the wrap material; a cut-out in the cylindrical tube for exposing an end of the wrap material; and a groove formed in an outer surface of the cylindrical tube.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of priority of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/415,583, filed Nov. 21, 2010,which incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to hand held material dispensing andstorage apparatus.

SUMMARY

A new and useful hand-held apparatus for storing, dispensing and cuttingwrap material in selected lengths that may be comprised of wrap such asgift wrap paper, foil, plastic, kraft paper, construction paper,packaging paper, but are not limited to and is not intended to limit thescope of the invention.

The distinguishable feature; a novel characteristic of the apparatus isthat it could be used for storing wrap material and for storing wrappingaccessories within the apparatus, such as a plastic cutting knife, tape,bows, ribbons, gift tags, writing device, but are not limited to and isnot intended to limit the scope of the invention. Anotherdistinguishable characteristic is that the apparatus is cylindricaltubing with a notched-out groove, a cut-out portion and a cut offportion removed.

The notched-out groove provides for a cutting edge to be used as a guidewith the application of the cutting knife for cutting the wrap materialstraight. The cut-out portion allows for loading the wrap material intothe centre of the apparatus and same cut-out portion allows fordispensing of the desired, selected length of wrap. A portion of thecylindrical tubing is cut off the entire length of the apparatus to makea flat bottom surface which provides stability while cutting the desiredlength of wrap material. No features protrude from the apparatus itselfother than the wrap material when in use and the two end caps. Theapparatus consists of a cylindrical tube with a partition separating thewrap material and the wrapping accessories. The apparatus also includestwo removable end caps (one on each end of the tube) to hold in the wrapmaterial during use and storage and also to secure the accessories whenthe apparatus is not in use. A spacer is provided which could beinserted into the end of the apparatus in which the roll of wrap isinserted to accommodate for shorter lengths of the wrap material,enabling the roll to remain in a proper position for dispensing the wrapmaterial straight.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of an apparatus for dispensing and storing wrapmaterial;

FIG. 2 is a back view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views of end caps of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view and end view of a cutting device;

FIG. 7 is a side view and an end view of a spacer material;

FIG. 8 is a front view of an apparatus for dispensing and storing wrapmaterial according to another embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a front view of the apparatus for dispensing and storing wrapmaterial of FIG. 8 including an end cap;

FIG. 10 is a front view of an apparatus for dispensing and storing wrapmaterial yet another embodiment.

The drawings that are provided are for specific examples, but are notlimited to and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Thedrawings are referred to as Figures referred to as {FIG.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10} respectively, with Reference points referredto as (1) through (104).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The apparatus {FIG. 1} for dispensing and storing wrap material andaccessories comprises (1) a rigid tubular material of any hard materialsuch as metal, plastic, rubber, wood, paper and can take any shape suchas rectangular, square, triangular, circular, spherical.

{FIG. 1} is a front view of the apparatus which could be (2) 37″ inlength. The thickness (3) could be 3/16″. The inside diameter (4) of theapparatus could be 2″. The notched-out groove (7) runs the full lengthof the apparatus and could be ¾ of the thickness of (3). The cut offportion (6) runs the full length of the apparatus and could be ¾ of thethickness of (3). The inside partition (5) could be ⅛″ thick and thedistance (9) from the end (3) to the partition (5) could be 5 ⅛″. Thedistance (10) from (5) to (3 a) could be 30 ¼″.

{FIG. 2} is a back view of the apparatus. The cut-out portion (8) couldbe 3/16″ wide and is the same length as (10). The cut-out portion (8)could be 1 ¾″ (13) from the centre of the circumference of the tube. Thenotched-out groove (7) could be (12) 1″ from the center on thecircumference of the tube.

{FIG. 3} is an end view of the apparatus (3 a) showing the wrap material(14) within the apparatus (4 a) and demonstrating the wrap material (15)being dispensed through the cut-out portion (8) and further around pastthe notched-out groove (7) continuing around the apparatus and past cutoff portion(6) and extended to the desired length of wrap material (15)required. The wrap material (15) then is pulled snugly around theapparatus (FIG. 1} (1) to hold wrap material (15) in place while hand ispositioned on top of the apparatus {FIG. 1} (1) and then with other handthe wrap material (15) is cut with cutting device {FIG. 6} (11) alongthe notched-out groove (7). The cut-out portion (8) shows that thecut-out is made on an angle that could be 45 degrees to allow for theeven dispensing of the wrap material (15) which allows for the naturalcontour of the wrap material (15) to follow the contour of the apparatus(1) which, in turn, allows for easy storage and, therefore, it is notnecessary to re-wind the wrap back into the tube for storage purposes,thus allowing for easy visual identification of the pattern of wrap forthe next time desired selected wrap is required.

{FIG. 4} and {FIG. 5} are the end caps that could be 2″ inside diameter(16) to fit in (FIG. 1} (4). (17) could be ¾″. (18) outside diametercould be 2 ⅛″. (19) attached to inside recessed area (17) to allow forease of installing and removing end cap.

{FIG. 6} (11) shows the side view of cutting device which could be3″×¾″. (20) shows the front view of cutting device.

(FIG. 7} (21) shows the spacer material which could be composed of foam,styrofoam, paper or other semi-rigid material to be inserted {FIG. 1}(4) into and used when the wrap material {FIG. 3} (14) is less than 30″in length. (22) the inside diameter of (FIG. 3} (4). (23) could be cutinto the desired length required to snugly fit a smaller length of wrapmaterial into the apparatus to keep it in the correct position. (24) isa finger hole to allow for easy removal of the spacer.

Two Piece Alternative Embodiment #1 Description

{FIG. 8} shows the apparatus with the section (that holds theaccessories) removed. (81) could be 31 ¾″ in length to allow for thelength of the wrap 30″ with ¼″ gap, and 1 ½″ to allow for two end caps¾″ each in length. (82) is an end cap.

{FIG. 9} shows an alternative embodiment comprised of two pieces insteadof the one piece design. The two piece design indicates the removal ofthe accessory storage portion of the original embodiment. The accessoryportion will now be used as a cap that will now fit over the tubeportion that contains the wrap material. The cap portion can becomprised of thin wall material rather than the rigid wall material thatis used in the tubular device in which the wrap material is inserted.{FIG. 9} (83) is now extended for the full length of the tube (81) whichis now 31 ¾″ in length. (86) is the cap portion which overlaps over to(81). (85) is the cap portion which could be 6 ½″of which 1 ½″ wouldoverlap when inserted over (81). (82) is the end of the cap (86) whichwould be a solid piece comprising the end of the cap. (87) is the insidediameter of the cap (86) which would fit over the outside diameter of{FIG. 1} (1).

Two Piece Alternative Embodiment #2 Description

{FIG. 10} shows where {FIG. 2} (8) is not removed from the apparatus and(6) is now cut so that a portion of (4 a) is removed to allow for thedispensing of the wrap material. (104) inside diameter of the cap wouldbe such that it would fit over outside diameter of (81) and (101) of thecap (86) would follow the contour of the cut of (103) of the bottom of(81). (102) shows where a portion of (4 a) is now removed to allow forthe dispensing of the wrap material.

1. A cylindrical tube for dispensing wrap material, comprising: an outersurface having a flat portion, the flat portion for resting on asurface; an inside diameter sized for receiving the wrap material; acut-out in the cylindrical tube for exposing an end of the wrapmaterial; and a groove formed in an outer surface of the cylindricaltube.
 2. A cylindrical tube as claimed in claim 1, comprising end capsreceived on ends of the cylindrical tube.
 3. A cylindrical tube asclaimed in claim 1, comprising a partition for defining a portion of thecylindrical tube for receiving accessories.